Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru
One of my goals for 2009 is to organize my home office and streamline my business systems, which, at the moment, means I am switching email programs. Like many entrepreneurs, I have several email accounts, which seems to multiply my frustration, rather than make my life easier. For some reason, setting up email accounts is an exercise in exasperation and I have spent too many hours to mention on the project. However, on a positive note, I am now two email addresses lighter and have successfully transferred to a brand new system. I thought about taking my old mail with me but have decided it’s better to start fresh and get a jump-start on my goal to keep my inbox clean and manageable.
If you are like me, then you have way too much email clutter. I just came across an email from my mother-in-law congratulating my wife and I on our eldest daughter’s graduation from kindergarten. Since she is about to graduate high school, I’d say that qualifies as outdated. If you share my goal to eliminate electronic clutter, I’d like to offer you a couple quick tips to get you started.
1. Check and manage email on a daily basis. Schedule one or two consistent time periods each day to go through your email inbox. Get rid of as much email as you can each day. If possible, don’t go to bed at night before clearing out your email inbox.
2. Take action. Just as it’s easy to paper shuffle, it’s also simple to ‘email shuffle.’ Take action on each email you open.
You’re welcome. Now get back to work!
To help you achieve a high functioning work environment, and avoid work-ending carpal tunnel, today’s offering is the Ergo-Gel Mouse Pad, which boasts a cushy gel-filled wrist rest and no-slip bottom. So you (and your clients) can scroll, click and mouse your way to an empty inbox and a more productive work life. Don’t forget to put your name on it!
As my Dad always says, “It’s hard to come up with a fresh marketing slogan if your head and desk are cluttered with junk.” So, to heed his advice, I’m off to tackle my filing cabinets—I’ve two years worth of credit card statements, meal receipts and ticket stubs so I should be done sometime next month if I work quickly. If you don’t see a blog next week, it probably means I’m buried under a stack of bills…send help.